ICT In Information Management

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

INNOVATION SYSTEMS AND THE LEARNING PROCESS

Technologies offer new opportunities for social, economic and even academic transformation. These bring about new forms of learning that give rise to innovative knowledge. The chapter discusses some changes affecting the management of technological innovations within firms and the public sector. Its concern is how people within this sector learn to manage and organize ICT’s. It also offers insight into the process of orgarnizational structures and the importance of user-product linkages bin the world of ICT.

The chapter outlines 5 basic principles of knowledge production in this fields as:1. The increasing number of places/centers where research is being carried out. In that it can no longer be fully captured as printed work .2. Interaction is being broadened and deepened by interaction between scholars through these electronic intervention.3. Problem interest has generated a lot of interconnection amongst knowledge producers.4. The new mode of knowledge production now moves in problem context which causes the dynamics of socially distributed knowledge for shifting patterns of connectivity amongst these flows.

The growth of this socially distributed knowledge is a very haphazard and doesn’t pattern with institutional ways that have characterized science in the past. In association to these principles research practices are experiencing a very high level of changes which aren’t uniform the whole range of research activities .An important instrument and institution for this change is the university. The level of purposeful knowledge needed for research for research and training and teaching practices. These demands in higher institutions are highly insatiable and universities must pump a lot of money to get even an appreciable and append able amount of this knowledge. Therefore “knowledge networks”ar increasingly, spanning national boundaries and linking researches to the industrialized and developing countries.Hence, the influence of ICT to support scientific and technological researches has great impact on the way these research work is done,orgarnized,andEvaluated.Also,advanced manufacturing technologies referring to a bundle of a technological opportunities which are opened up by the application of information technology.Organizational learning continuity is needed to benefit from these technologies as well as invest in hardware, software and human resource development according to (Leanard Borton 1975).The learning process also involves experimentation, experience, reflection and conceptualization. When the cycle of learning is incomplete, the benefits of AMTS are very difficult to captivate.

is creating a dynamic “boom” in the industrialized markets. It is playing a great role in meeting the requirements of contemporary markets. These principles Are implemented in ways that are flexible, highly tolerant and provide capacity for meeting diverse4 and complex markets. Although, low levels of education in developing and under developing counties may undermine the capacity to introduce these new technologies .(Jaikumar 1886).Availability, of appropriate skills is central to the successful deployment of ICT-Based innovations that enable organizational learning.ICT’s unlike earlier technology systems i.e. steam power or electricity are unique in that they touch and function in every aspect of life.2.The chapter also raised the questions of weather developed countries should have the capability for producing ICT’s in order to use them effectively in the applications such as the design of complex products. Relationships between service suppliers and the modes of services involve a learning process where firms use ICT based services, such as advanced management information systems (MIS) become strategic. Using China as an example of a technically ICT innovative oriented developing countries and though the 1st civil ICT applications were for word-processing and technical calculations. In 1980’s China began to pursue a new ICT policy –‘Import, Digest, Develop and create’. This opened the country’s economy and its rapid growth,The orientation of scientific and technological development has shifted and expanded greatly. Hence, China has been one of the largest importers of technology ever since then .(1980’s)It was also noted that:ICT applications are generally restricted to data processing, calculations ,accounting e.t.c. Some Successes in the other areas such as the application of computer-integrated manufacturing systems. The Brazilians case illustrates the importance of techno-economic factors relating to theLearning processes, the market competition expected ,the speed of technical innovation and the productivity gains. Political factors were important including the willingness of countries leading in the production of the new technology to share technological knowledge with a developingCountry. In conclusion ,the chapter is talking how technology has given both developing and developed countries the need to acquire the opportunities presented by ICT to practice by learning -by -using and learning –by – doing the capabilities for a wide range of technological Innovations and developments which include incentives introduced through macro- economic Policies and the effecvtive usage of ICT.Although, it does appear that developing countries need to be able to provide ICT application support services and this implies the need to ensure that are in some cases very similar to those needed for the development of software(Cooper 1998 Forthcomming) Informal learning processes prove very necessary in such cases as in not all people in these countries, even have the basic background education build to support extensive/intense ICT building.In a conclusive summary, it gave us a pitch of the efforts be made and adopted to bridge the gap between world/international ICT knowledge Societies.Mrs. Retplang Idu -PGDIM/EDU/50008/05-06 and Mrs. Grace Nock -PGDIM/EDU/51402/05-06

(Summary of Chapter 11 - National IT Strategy for Knowledge Based Development)

ICT revolution is a challenge to the government of various countries of the world, politicians and business sector, thus the leading national and international organizations are reshaping themselves to increase their responsiveness in the face of market changes.

This chapter discussed the strategies and policies adopted for the implementation of ICTs and information infrastructure in the developing countries so as to bridge the gap between industrialized countries and the developing countries of the world. An international consensus emerged on the urgent need for developing countries to prepare national ICT strategies to provide a framework to govern the allocation of resources among different groups of users and sectors. However, some countries strategies and policies were mentioned they include Bermuda, Singapore, Malta Thailand Malaysia and Jamaica. In Malaysia for instance an ICT policy was introduced and the planning is the responsibility of numerous committees, and the countries strategic approach includes the establishment of National IT Council (NITC) which provides consultative assistance and also ensures that the social implications of ICT are considered along with the need to develop human and technical capabilities. The strategy is linked to Vision 2020 development policy which emphasis that the ultimate purpose of development should be for human development.

A call by the Information Society and Development (ISAD) conference held in South Africa in 1996 called for coordinated action by the G-7 countries and the developing countries to promote the use of ICTs to meet people’s basic needs, for all sectors of the society, innovation, human resource development, support for business particularly small and medium size, support for good governance, promotion of cultural heritage, infrastructural development using appropriate technology, linked with universal goals and for special assistance for countries with special circumstances.

This chapter offers some guide to the response on the new consensus on the importance of global information infrastructure and the emerging national information infrastructures in developing countries. Attention was drawn on some of the strategies that are already in place, steps necessary in mobilizing resources to develop the national information infrastructure. In addition it offers guidelines for policy makers and stakeholders in the business community to assist in devising ICT strategies that will be effective and responsive to development priorities.

In line with the above, the guideline for designing and implementing national ICT strategies are enumerated below:

v There are risks that may be encountered as a result of the ICT such as loss of jobs, effect on cultural and so on. In order to avoid some of these risks necessitated by the emergence of ICT, the strategies need to create relationship between technological and human resources which will be devoted to producing, maintaining and using ICTs applications.v National ICT strategies should encourage government and civil society to complement one another by using ICT to enhance skills, formal education and informal learning processes. This is necessary because of the constant changes in ICT, new applications are being created daily and this result in continuous change in skills requirement.v Before the advent of ICT the organizations approach to work is mainly manual, but with the advent of ICT new forms of organization is required with informed managers to act as intermediaries to integrate, coordinate and disseminate information drawn from scientific and technical research and the practical experience about the production and use of ICTs.v Again the design of infrastructure should encourage ICT development that will be responsive to the needs of all section of the population because of the risks of social exclusion if business and citizens do not have access to adequate national information infrastructure.v It is necessary that any existing ICT strategy addresses the issue of finance. Operational guidelines on how to raise and combine fund from the domestic, regional and international community because the market mechanism alone are unlikely to be sufficient to generate adequate fund.v In order to develop a national information infrastructure, developing countries should mobilize and pool large amounts of investment and expertise. This can be done by creating a market friendly environment. Without this it will be difficult to mobilize substantial fund.v Existing governance process should be reviewed and adjusted in line with the initiatives in industrialized and newly industrializing countries. Developing countries should seek to complement the market mechanism by decentralizing decision making structures with institutional frame works that encourage participatory planning procedures.

ICT offers huge potential for creating economic and social benefits for all citizens. The chapter suggested that and ICT policy should partly cover the following:

Ø Technology policy which stimulates the development of new technologiesØ Industrial policy involves the shaping of industrial structures stimulating structural changes and supporting competitiveness.Ø Media policy defines the framework for provision of electronic media content and theØ Telecommunication Policy which creates and shapes the transmission infrastructure.

The key to rapid ICT development and the national information infrastructure is a market friendly environment; given the existence of market failure a national strategy that complements the market mechanism is required. To achieve development, it has to be planned and developed and an integral part of each county’s overall development strategy.

It has to be treated as a profit sector. The national strength and weakness in production and maintenance should be defined so that this development will not be over import dependant development. ICT applications are important tools to increase the productivity of firms and of organizations profitability. Profitability should be balanced against social welfare considerations to avoid the development of two tier knowledge societies.

This chapter also stresses on the need for economies of scale and cooperation – this is a situation where designs are integrated with regional, continental or international network which may result in cost effective solution. Economies of harmonization which encourages competition and stimulate market growth and investment costs of installation of networks may be shared by different user group and savings can be achieved by permitting the interconnection of private and public networks such as the use of tele kiosk, access points and so on are examples of ways in which economies of joint use can be exploited at a reasonable cost.

In conclusion, the advent of ICT has improved the lot of man and man’s effort. It has enhanced productivity and governance and improved human resources.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Chapter 10

DIKE HARRIET N

PGDIM/EDUC/48753/05-06

Chapter 10

INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATIONS FOR THE GOVERNANCE OF INFORMATION SERVICE

The chapter reviews recent internationalDevelopments in the area of copyrightProtection and electronic commerce according to it the major producers of information products ( including software) are becoming very active in seeking strong intellectual property protection and they are calling upon governments to ensure that international conventions and national legislation are updated and enforced. Being without the resources to enforce protection, many developing countries have not implemented national legislation to cope with ICT revolution.

The least developed countries will need to introduce measures to improve conditions of access to existing sources of information. The intergovernmental organization with special responsibility for intellectual property rights is the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), specialized agency of the United Nations. WIPO administers international conventions for the protection of trademarks and copyrights and offers assistance to countries in formulating intellectual property protection.

The developments in the intellectual property protection arena are significant for developing countries who wish to become producers of “digital products” or to use externally produced electronic information services and products as tools and components of ICT applications.

There are many systems for the protection of intellectual works that are being used by content developers* Cryptography is the most widely used method of protecting information from potential infringement. Information is encrypted so that it is unusable until a ‘key’ is applied. CD-ROM publishers use encryption software packages to protect their disks or limit access to specified group of users thereby making copying of CD-ROMs very difficult.* Separate regional codes are being introduced so that DVD bought in United States for example will not play in France.* Holograms are being developed which are embedded in CD or CD-ROM packaging or media to authenticate the legitimacy of a copy.

Anti piracy or anti-infringement organizations are campaigning to encourage developing countries to update and enforce their copyright legislation.

CONCLUSION:

The interests of the producers and users of information are contrasted in the area of copyright protection and electronic commerce. The implications of the growth in the international markets for information services and the role of the internet are considered from the perspective of public policy interests in governance, social control and the protection of personal privacy.

Friday, October 13, 2006

BUILDING INNOVATIVE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETIES

Innovative knowledge societies depend on education and an S&T base. The particular mix of capabilities needed to take advantage of ICTs will be different in each developing country. This is a major area for policy action and the involvement of all stakeholders in society. The balance of capabilities that will enable production, maintenance, or use of ICT systems and applications is unique to each country. Nevertheless, all countries need to build a broad base of technological and social capabilities.ICTs offer new opportunities for social and economic transformation. In the industrialized countries, these transformations are evident in the ways new forms of learning give rise to innovative knowledge networks for the creation and exchange of information. Although ICTs offer new techniques for acquiring digital information, this information is of little use in developing countries if it cannot be transformed into knowledge relevant to development.New modes of producing and exchanging knowledge, with knowledge produced in the context of its application, have profound implications for developing countries. The new modes are creating potential problems for existing educational and scientific-research institutions. Without changes in these institutions’ approaches, many developing countries risk finding themselves locked into a mode of knowledge production that is increasingly less relevant to their specific technical, scientific, and economic needs.Evidence from both industrialized New skills are needed to make creative use of ICTs. English remains the predominant language in ICT applications. It is also the dominant language of the Internet, reflecting the strong North American presence and the Anglo-Saxon bias of this medium. Fluency in English is becoming an important skill in the use of ICTs.Three other types of skills are particularly relevant to effective use of ICTs. First, participatory skills can help in networked communication and information sharing. Second, facilitating skills are needed to support the design, implementation, and maintenance of new communication networks and ICTs requiring technical skills for installation, user training, and maintenance. Third, control skills are needed to manage increasingly sophisticated communication networks and information services and applications.The least-developed countries face many pressures when they seek to accumulate these new skills. Even when facilities exist to support the acquisition of formal skills, these countries need informal-learning opportunities to upgrade the skills base. Trainers with the necessary skills are often in short supply because of the high demand. FInformal and formal training is essential to the development of the skills base for future innovative knowledge societies. In view of the growth in the world’s population, providing the necessary skills training and learning opportunities is a tremendous challenge. The high proportion of young people in developing countries means a rising demand for qualified teachers. Developing countries need to adopt measures to retain students in the educational system or in the types of employment that offer them effective learning, and the new ICTs can support these measures.

By and large the use of ICT building innovative knowledge to the Nigerian contex is very significance as nowthe wold is going into ICT compliance and its used can never be emphases in this small chapter. we can see some of its importance interm of education sector where presently the registration of senior secondary school certificte examiniantion are registered online. therefore there is a great need for the government of nigeria to look as the means of compacting more knowledge of ICT to its peaople considering its relevance. these by adding or chaging curricullulm of teaching to be ICT compliance.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Chapter 13

TOOLS FOR KNOWLEDGE SOCIETIES.

This article or report is specifically based on the importance of ICT to the economic, social and information growth of any society whether developed or developing. The developed nations, according to the report are becoming knowledge based societies and they have much to say and contribute in terms of technological innovation.

Since ICT is the backbone of any country’s growth generally, the developed nations are of the notion that for the developing nations to meet up in the society there is need for them to embrace ICT in its entire ramification. The developed nations are referred to as the industrialized countries because of the height the have attained in ICT.

This report stresses on the fact that, for the developing nations to be part and parcel of the developed world in terms of ICT, there is need for them to find ways of combining their existing social and technological capabilities. The developing nations need to invest in both technological and social capabilities. There is also need for the developing nations to form partnership to address varieties of coordination, mobilization and social problems affecting them.

The developed nations gave guidelines to cover issues that need to be considered regarding ICT and how ICTs are to be maintained, customized, re-configured to meet a specific requirement.

The article stressed on the importance of ICT as a capital good that can improve productivity and raise qualities through their intermediate use in the production of goods and services. ICT has been regarded as an enabler of development and a source of skills and capabilities that can make a contribution in different development contexts. It has also incorporated into people’s lives through individual and organizational learning, adaptation and accommodation and resistance.

A successful ICT involvement promotes accumulation of skills and knowledge that has a major impact on development and aspirations. The developing nations should as well develop underlying ICT infrastructure and create conditions that will encourage the build-up of social capabilities in selected areas.

ICT in the society involves new approaches to education, new types of jobs and new modes of cultural expression, the formation of new social networks and changes in market relationships. ICT will also create new job opportunities for the developing nations. It will also help government organization and other stakeholders in their various area of interest.

Finally, the report emphasized on the need for technical training to acquire new skills for managing the institutional, regulatory and technological bodies. It is also of the view that, if ICT is fully embraced, there will be great development in all aspects of life and it will as well alleviate poverty and strengthen the economy.

The Review of the Topic: Implementing ICTs in the Least Developed Countries.

By

Nwobu, O.E. PGDIM/EDUC/49550 &Anibueze, Chibuike H. PGDIM/EDUC/50380

IntroductionComparing LDCs to the industrialized countries in terms of Information technologies, the differences are unimaginable. Some countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, South America and Mahgreb regions – and China – will take 15 to 20 years, countries in the Northern Africa and the Oceania region, some 30 years while sub-Saharan Africa and central Asian countries will take like 50 to 100 years.

Nevertheless, since, the industrialized countries still devise telecottages and local learning centers to broaden access to ICTs deepen the skill base, and build new competencies, it is essential that the LDCs devise innovative models of their own to surmount the difficulties of emulating the industrialize countries in their one person – one telephone – one internet access point model (Gillespie and Cornford 1997, Taylor et al 1997).

The model that LDCs need to create will be cost effective, sharing of information resources as well as the hardware and software that facilitate access to networks.However, there are constraints to achieving the goal of harnessing ICTs to development priorities in the LDCs e.g. some LDCs have highly sophisticated digital telecommunication infrastructure (de Cuellar 1995). If the costs of usage could be kept at an affordable level, new technologies, such as multi – point, multi- channel distribution systems and cellular radio, could be used to alleviate congestion on older terrestrial networks in other countries. A serious problem for network availability is the absence of reliable power sources. Internet being a more important mode of information exchange, the configuration of stand – alone intranet and internet usage to optimize availability terminal and network use, needs to be considered (UNESCO 1996). Rural areas of the LDCs are disadvantaged because of the limited extent of their national grinds (de Oliveira 1991) as ICTs relies on electricity. This reliance of ICTs on electricity further adds to the complexity of the trade off between the utilities, financial viability etc each of which has to be assessed carefully. Although electricity is important to economic development but without transportation, banking and other infrastructures modern life is almost impossible (de Oliveira 1991:78)

Mainly shortage of electricity is a major deterrent to the use of ICTs and for LDCs to develop and implement ICT systems in ways that are responsive to their needs and priorities, there is no ‘ideal – type’ model that will fit the requirements of each country. However, Govt. and other stakeholders in the LDCs should develop plans for strengthening their national infrastructures. The poverty of these countries means that there is an absence of ‘buyer power’ in the potential ICT-using population according to the author. LDCs need ‘accesses’ to many things – medical facilities, water, jobs, money and other resources. LDCs, like other countries, need to build the capabilities to assess and evaluate their own priorities and to devise strategies that are responsive to their development goals. The internet’s explosive growth is a very important ‘driver’ of the global information infrastructure vision. In OECD countries a strong association has been found between telecommunication market liberalization, competition, and growing numbers Access Providers and users, LDCs would see substantial growth in the use of the internet if they opened their markets to competition and introduced a radical restructuring of prices for network access and use. However, market liberalization on its own is unlikely to spark the massive increases in internet use that have occurred in the industrialized countries and some of the newly industrializing countries. The importance of information available on the internet should be addressed too.

Many other factors are responsible for network interoperability and interconnection and it needs to be addressed through policy measures with respect to standardization and procurement specification for network operators.1. the regulatory authorities must possess an adequate amount of technical knowledge2. there is need for incentives for cooperation among all those who are responsible for managing networks.3. lower prices resulting from competitive pressures still must be high enough to provide a commercial return to private sector information providers and in some countries moral and ethnical traditions encourage governments to suppress access to the World Wide Web using “intelligent agents’ and to control the use of various kinds of bulletin boards and internet-based discussion groups.In general, the overall use of ICTs remains very limited in LDCs, for e.g. In Ethiopia, the application of ICTs in the health sector is localized mainly in libraries that are using CD-ROMs for database searches. Infrastructure constraints limit information sharing among organizations and e-mail exchange is very difficult. New applications are out of reach due to cost, absence of appropriate infrastructure, or the specialized capabilities necessary for their effective use. There are severe shortages of up-to-date, relevant information source, and skilled employee, coupled with inadequate infrastructure. These need to be looked into in the LDCs so as to encourage the use of ICT. The diffusion of ICT into Africa and Nigeria in general has been at a snail's pace such that the gap between information-rich developed countries and African countries continues to widen everyday. However, the implementation of ICT application is still a problem to Nigerians because of many factors, ranging from the lack of funds to fluctuations in the supply of electricity. This has indirectly affected the level of usage of ICT in Nigeria by the lecturers and it has hindered access to scholarly publications useful for research in academic sectors. Despite many constraints, the use of information technology is growing among lecturers in Nigerian universities.

In the LDCs, national information infrastructures offer access to useful information and it depends on the type of information that is accessible and affordable from a variety of electronic sources. The internet is one of the potential outlets for governments and other stakeholders in LDCs to ‘publish’ information and share the results of ICT applications. There are a growing number of sites with information about LDCs but not like the industrialized countries. Many of the commercial sites are managed by webmasters in the United States, United Kingdom, or Australia while those originated from the LDCs tend to contain outdated information.

In conclusion, to implement ICT applications to alleviate developments problems in LDCs attention must focus on the needs of the information user and on the type of information that are becoming available as a result of commercial activity and public sector initiatives. Though efforts to use digital stand-alone or networked distance learning products in the LDCs encounter problems with language teaching, different pedagogical methods, diplomas and curricula, and legal problems concerning copying and use of audiovisual materials (UNESCO 1996) in education field. Although there are still obstacles to ICT, including low penetration, inadequate ICT skills, poverty, and power problems, these factors have not eclipsed the substantial significance of ICT growth in the past few years. ICT has contributed to Nigeria's economic empowerment, by creating new jobs, expanding the revenue base, contributing to industrial growth and developing ICT skills. Nigeria as a case study suggests that ICT is an important agent for economic growth and development.

For the way forward, many international funding agencies like Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation should be involved in the general development of ICT in Nigeria. Such assistance would complement the efforts of Nigerian government in order to leapfrog the higher education institutions and Nigeria in general to the global information society. For instance, UNESCO is supporting a Pilot Virtual University and Virtual Laboratory Project to link initially six Nigerian universities in each of the six geographical zones and the Nigerian Universities Commission. Later, this project will help to link all universities, teachers' colleges, and research institutions in the country. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria has 446,000 persons in employment in 2003, according to a study commissioned by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). NITDA observed that the study revealed that as at 2003, there were about 14,800 organizations in the country's ICT formal sector. Each of these reportedly employed staff in the areas of programming, processing and network operations, as well as database design and analysis, and technical support, research and development and marketing. Some of the organizations were engaged in two or more activities, but they dealt mainly in IT and telecom.The significant growth was a reflection of the introduction of GSM services in Nigeria, which generated small scale businesses across the country, as well as a growing number of cyber cafes. Employment in the IT sub sector, was put at 329,594, while that for the telecom sub sector it was put at 116,406 persons. The ICT sub sector has clearly been growing faster than the required manpower growth rate. The situation is such that there have been a lot of criss-cross from job to job by telecoms engineers, computer scientists and persons with various ICT industry certifications. Some highly skilled technicians changed jobs as many as two times last year, moving to the highest bidder. The banks particularly suffered as a good deal of their technical staff were poached by telecoms companies. It is expected that with the increased budgetary allocation made to education, the dearth of skilled ICT manpower will be somewhat ameliorated. It is also expected that more private enterprise will take advantage of this opening. If all the problems numerated will be address and look into, the LDCs will enjoy ICT.

ICT In Information Management

As a result of the high cost of introducing computers and an appropriate infrastructure throughout education institutions in developing countries, the introduction of distance education continues to suffer from limited access to the necessary technologies and from the poor quality of technology. Unfortunately, many of the networks that exist today in support of education and learning, support only one-way communication. In addition some programes offer little or no opportunity for interaction during the learning process although there are many variations. Even if these shortcomings could be overcome, the costs of maintaining communication links are a substantial burden for many education institutions in developing countries. Until very recently, distance education institutions were the only institutions experimenting with ICTS.

Timely and competent partnerships are needed among educations, corporations, researchers and politicians at national, regional and global levels to support changes in education.

ICTS are one of the most pervasive technologies in the world, second only to “human intelligence” or human brain. The ICTS can apply to almost anything. ICTS is mainly used by the managerial and administrative staff in the higher institutions for organizing courses and planning curricula, for teaching and research for the students and for the wider support and maintenance staff.

Manor transformations are occurring in the formal education sector and other organizations that play a key role in enabling people to develop new capabilities and to strengthen the capabilities of the population in developing countries with the expectation that this, in turn, will strengthen the science and technology base.

In most developing countries, the education systems are resource constrained, but there are potential benefits of the application of ICTS that can help to alleviate these constraints; these are

CONSTRAINTS ANDTECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS1. Time: Teaching and learning have to take place at a particular time, repeated for different groups.

Different forms of recording and storage permit access on demand.

2. Age: Many educational process, structure and opportunities are age related, favouring the young.

Learning through the new technology can be customized, drawing on the best planning and teaching resources and a wide range of illustration.

4. Access: much information is inaccessible (in archive, remove).

The new technology can increase accessibility by making in for available in user friendly settings and formats.

5.Dimension: Much of the teaching is confined to the individual and the teacher with limited hands-on experience and exposure to other information.

Technology can enhance visualization and sensory perception.

6. Cost: well-presented teacher intensive education is costly.

Although the claim is often exaggerated, the use of communication technology can lead to economies of scales.

7. Place: the same teaching module has to be repeated in several locations. Students have to congregate in a designated space.

Communication is made possible over considerable distances learning can take place in many locations, including the home

8. Creativity and freedom of expression: constraints on expression, endemic in many societies, can seriously impair educational processes.

The new technology encourage creativity and freedom of expression by exhibiting a variety of models and learning experiences and by-passing many frontier which restrict the circulation of ideas.

CONCLUSION

Children who have been through the education system are able to use computers to access, select, assess and apply information. They also develop the skills and motivation for lifelong learning so that they can continue to be employable as jobs demand new skills and abilities. They acquire the confidence and attitudes essential for successful use of ICTS.

Schools are extremely important for socialization and communication, one of the major needs of the future work place is communication skills.it is difficult, if not impossible to acquire these in isolation or purely through ICT. Not only in work but also on social and political life, a major role in social cohension and in natural culture.

Related to the rising production, use, and diffusion of ICTs there are a lot of hopes, dreams, and myths. This also applies for the potential uses of ICT for sustainable development, subsystem of society where discussions focus on the question if ICTs can advance potential sustainability, i.e. improvement of ICTs to the underdeveloped and developing nations. “Our contention is that, as ICT becomes more sophisticated and more embedded in our organizational structures and everyday life, we are in a better position than ever before to make sustainable development work.

“The Potential Uses of ICTs for Sustainable Development“ that wants to focus on ICT applications that could assist developing countries to reap the “social and economic benefits associated with extremely rapid innovation in advanced ICT based goods and services“ (Mansell/Wehn 1998: 82). Sustainable development is here understood as social and economic development. The chapter lists and discusses a number of ICT applications in the areas of e-traveling, e-government, e-transport, e-health, e-education, e-inclusion, and e-learning. These are technologies that today are mainly developed in Western countries and benefit the latter. The Third World is not only largely excluded from wealth, but also from technological progress. In 1999 there was 56 billion dollars in Western foreign aid for the Third World and the latter paid 136 billion dollars debt service to Western countries (Fuchs 2002: 370). Hence in total there was a value transfer from developing countries to developed countries and hence human aid in its current form is more ideology than real help. Although Africans make up 14,0% of the world population, Africa only accounts for 1,7% of the number of global Internet users (data from July 2005, source: World Internet Usage Statistics, I think what is needed for improving the situation of developing countries is on the one hand radical global redistribution of wealth starting with measures such as the increase of human aid, basic income for the absolute poor in the world, the elimination of debt burdens on Third World countries, and on the other hand a non-colonizing technology that is adapted to the needs of people in Third World countries and integrates their traditional knowledge and technologies. The authors of the chapter mention that “policy measures are needed to address the key areas within each country’s overall development strategy that could benefit from the use of ICT applications to promote initiatives that will generate financial resources“ (Mansell/Wehn 1998: 95) and that “a major goal of initiatives to implement ICT applications in developing countries is to help to alleviate poverty“ (ibid.: 98). But this chapter creates the image that solutions to the problems can be provided by Western technologies that are applied in Third World countries. This position is one of cultural imperialism that neglects that local and traditional ideas are of high cultural importance in solving the problems of the Third World and to avoid creating the impression of cultural imperialism. Western habits, colonialism, and postcolonial practices are part of the causes of the problems that Third World countries are facing today. What is hence needed in addressing issues such as poverty and ICTs in the Third World is unity in diversity management. In the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) passed in Geneva in 2003 technology transfer and ICT manufacturing is understood as a means for achieving a sustainable information society for developing countries:“33. To achieve a sustainable development of the Information Society, national capability in ICT research and development should be enhanced. Furthermore, partnerships, in particular between and among developed and developing countries, including countries with economies in transition, in research and development, technology transfer, manufacturing and utilization of ICT products and services are crucial for promoting capacity building and global participation in the Information Society. The manufacture of ICTs presents a significant opportunity for creation of wealth. [...] 43. Sustainable development can best be advanced in the Information

Society when ICT-related efforts and programmes are fully integrated in national and regional development strategies. We welcome the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and encourage the international community to support the ICT-related measures of this initiative as well as those belonging to similar efforts in other regions. Distribution of the benefits of ICT-driven growth contributes to poverty eradication and sustainable development.“ (WSIS 2003a, Principles 33, 43). Asustainable information society is here considered as one where ICTs promote participation and poverty eradication. Furthermore sustainable production and consumption patterns, usability, e-health, and e-learning are considered as aspects of a sustainable information society: “51. The usage and deployment of ICTs should seek to create benefits in all aspects of our daily life. ICT applications are potentially important in government operations and services, health care and health information, education and training, employment, job creation, business, agriculture, transport, protection of environment and management of natural resources, disaster prevention, and culture, and to promote eradication of poverty and other agreed development goals. ICTs should also contribute to sustainable production and consumption patterns and reduce traditional barriers, providing an opportunity for all to access local and global markets in a more equitable manner. Applications should be user-friendly, accessible to all, affordable, adapted to local needs in languages and cultures, and support sustainable development. To this effect, local authorities should play a major role in the provision of ICT services for the benefit of their populations.

Argues that for achieving a sustainable information society governments, businesses, civil society, and international and regional institutions must take responsibility, argues in favour of a mixed strategy of political practice and economic investment for achieving a sustainable information society. Government should devise national strategies for digital inclusion, promote public access, e-government, e-business, e-learning, e-health, e-employment, e-environment, e-agriculture, e-science, etc. For achieving a sustainable information society in developing countries, the WSIS Plan of Action argues on the one hand that debt cancellation is needed, on the other hand that more private national and international markets for ICTs should be provided by developing countries. “D2. c. For those developing countries facing unsustainable debt burdens, we welcome initiatives that have been undertaken to reduce outstanding indebtedness and invite further national and international measures in that regard, including, as appropriate, debt cancellation and other arrangements. Particular attention should be given to enhancing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. These initiatives would release more resources that may be used for financing ICT for development projects. Recognizing the potential of ICT for development we furthermore advocate: i. developing countries to increase their efforts to attract major private national and foreign investments for ICTs through the creation of a transparent, stable and predictable enabling investment environment; ii. developed countries and international financial organisations to be responsive to the strategies and priorities of ICTs for development, mainstream ICTs in their work programmes, and assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition to prepare and implement their national e-strategies. Based on the priorities of national development plans and implementation of the above commitments, developed countries should increase their efforts to provide more financial resources to developing countries in harnessing ICTs for development; iii. the private sector to contribute to the implementation of this Digital Solidarity Agenda.

What is missing here is the insight that markets don’t automatically eliminate poverty because they don’t determine how wealth is distributed. Hence what is needed are regulatory practices that ensure that the benefits from ICT and economic production can be shared by all. Capital here is assessed only as a positive factor in achieving sustainable development, assesses IC markets as very positive means of advancing social sustainability, it neglects aspects of political regulation of the economy and income distribution and gives priority to economic logic.

Conclusion

The Chapter was dedicated to the potential uses of ICTs (urban and rural development, transportation, health, special needs, education, environment, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism) that can contribute to sustainable development in the developing and least developed countries. The report analyzes some important components of ICTs for developing countries: satellite infrastructures, new media services, audiovisual markets, and software capabilities, strategies, and markets. The report presents a useful table on barriers to the improvement of software capabilities in developing countries. This chapter also discusses how the cultural framework influences people's attitudes toward ICTs and the debate about English language dominance that is accompanying diffusion processes and use of ICTs

Related to the rising production, use, and diffusion of ICTs there are a lot of hopes, dreams, and myths. This also applies for the potential uses of ICT for sustainable development, subsystem of society where discussions focus on the question if ICTs can advance potential sustainability, i.e. improvement of ICTs to the underdeveloped and developing nations. “Our contention is that, as ICT becomes more sophisticated and more embedded in our organizational structures and everyday life, we are in a better position than ever before to make sustainable development work.

“The Potential Uses of ICTs for Sustainable Development“ that wants to focus on ICT applications that could assist developing countries to reap the “social and economic benefits associated with extremely rapid innovation in advanced ICT based goods and services“ (Mansell/Wehn 1998: 82). Sustainable development is here understood as social and economic development. The chapter lists and discusses a number of ICT applications in the areas of e-traveling, e-government, e-transport, e-health, e-education, e-inclusion, and e-learning. These are technologies that today are mainly developed in Western countries and benefit the latter. The Third World is not only largely excluded from wealth, but also from technological progress. In 1999 there was 56 billion dollars in Western foreign aid for the Third World and the latter paid 136 billion dollars debt service to Western countries (Fuchs 2002: 370). Hence in total there was a value transfer from developing countries to developed countries and hence human aid in its current form is more ideology than real help. Although Africans make up 14,0% of the world population, Africa only accounts for 1,7% of the number of global Internet users (data from July 2005, source: World Internet Usage Statistics, I think what is needed for improving the situation of developing countries is on the one hand radical global redistribution of wealth starting with measures such as the increase of human aid, basic income for the absolute poor in the world, the elimination of debt burdens on Third World countries, and on the other hand a non-colonizing technology that is adapted to the needs of people in Third World countries and integrates their traditional knowledge and technologies. The authors of the chapter mention that “policy measures are needed to address the key areas within each country’s overall development strategy that could benefit from the use of ICT applications to promote initiatives that will generate financial resources“ (Mansell/Wehn 1998: 95) and that “a major goal of initiatives to implement ICT applications in developing countries is to help to alleviate poverty“ (ibid.: 98). But this chapter creates the image that solutions to the problems can be provided by Western technologies that are applied in Third World countries. This position is one of cultural imperialism that neglects that local and traditional ideas are of high cultural importance in solving the problems of the Third World and to avoid creating the impression of cultural imperialism. Western habits, colonialism, and postcolonial practices are part of the causes of the problems that Third World countries are facing today. What is hence needed in addressing issues such as poverty and ICTs in the Third World is unity in diversity management. In the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) passed in Geneva in 2003 technology transfer and ICT manufacturing is understood as a means for achieving a sustainable information society for developing countries:“33. To achieve a sustainable development of the Information Society, national capability in ICT research and development should be enhanced. Furthermore, partnerships, in particular between and among developed and developing countries, including countries with economies in transition, in research and development, technology transfer, manufacturing and utilization of ICT products and services are crucial for promoting capacity building and global participation in the Information Society. The manufacture of ICTs presents a significant opportunity for creation of wealth. [...] 43. Sustainable development can best be advanced in the Information

Society when ICT-related efforts and programmes are fully integrated in national and regional development strategies. We welcome the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and encourage the international community to support the ICT-related measures of this initiative as well as those belonging to similar efforts in other regions. Distribution of the benefits of ICT-driven growth contributes to poverty eradication and sustainable development.“ (WSIS 2003a, Principles 33, 43). Asustainable information society is here considered as one where ICTs promote participation and poverty eradication. Furthermore sustainable production and consumption patterns, usability, e-health, and e-learning are considered as aspects of a sustainable information society: “51. The usage and deployment of ICTs should seek to create benefits in all aspects of our daily life. ICT applications are potentially important in government operations and services, health care and health information, education and training, employment, job creation, business, agriculture, transport, protection of environment and management of natural resources, disaster prevention, and culture, and to promote eradication of poverty and other agreed development goals. ICTs should also contribute to sustainable production and consumption patterns and reduce traditional barriers, providing an opportunity for all to access local and global markets in a more equitable manner. Applications should be user-friendly, accessible to all, affordable, adapted to local needs in languages and cultures, and support sustainable development. To this effect, local authorities should play a major role in the provision of ICT services for the benefit of their populations.

Argues that for achieving a sustainable information society governments, businesses, civil society, and international and regional institutions must take responsibility, argues in favour of a mixed strategy of political practice and economic investment for achieving a sustainable information society. Government should devise national strategies for digital inclusion, promote public access, e-government, e-business, e-learning, e-health, e-employment, e-environment, e-agriculture, e-science, etc. For achieving a sustainable information society in developing countries, the WSIS Plan of Action argues on the one hand that debt cancellation is needed, on the other hand that more private national and international markets for ICTs should be provided by developing countries. “D2. c. For those developing countries facing unsustainable debt burdens, we welcome initiatives that have been undertaken to reduce outstanding indebtedness and invite further national and international measures in that regard, including, as appropriate, debt cancellation and other arrangements. Particular attention should be given to enhancing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. These initiatives would release more resources that may be used for financing ICT for development projects. Recognizing the potential of ICT for development we furthermore advocate: i. developing countries to increase their efforts to attract major private national and foreign investments for ICTs through the creation of a transparent, stable and predictable enabling investment environment; ii. developed countries and international financial organisations to be responsive to the strategies and priorities of ICTs for development, mainstream ICTs in their work programmes, and assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition to prepare and implement their national e-strategies. Based on the priorities of national development plans and implementation of the above commitments, developed countries should increase their efforts to provide more financial resources to developing countries in harnessing ICTs for development; iii. the private sector to contribute to the implementation of this Digital Solidarity Agenda.

What is missing here is the insight that markets don’t automatically eliminate poverty because they don’t determine how wealth is distributed. Hence what is needed are regulatory practices that ensure that the benefits from ICT and economic production can be shared by all. Capital here is assessed only as a positive factor in achieving sustainable development, assesses IC markets as very positive means of advancing social sustainability, it neglects aspects of political regulation of the economy and income distribution and gives priority to economic logic.

Conclusion

The Chapter was dedicated to the potential uses of ICTs (urban and rural development, transportation, health, special needs, education, environment, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism) that can contribute to sustainable development in the developing and least developed countries. The report analyzes some important components of ICTs for developing countries: satellite infrastructures, new media services, audiovisual markets, and software capabilities, strategies, and markets. The report presents a useful table on barriers to the improvement of software capabilities in developing countries. This chapter also discusses how the cultural framework influences people's attitudes toward ICTs and the debate about English language dominance that is accompanying diffusion processes and use of ICTs